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From old boys' club to office space

The Chicago Athletic Association at 12 S. Michigan Ave. opened in 1890 and first leased its space from Marshall Field, according to former Chicago Sun-Times reporter Lisa Holton. Here, a man stands with elephants from the Chicago Athletic Club Circus in 1902.

PHOTO CREDIT: Chicago Daily News / Chicago History Museum

In 2007 the club filed for bankruptcy and shut its doors amid flagging revenue. A joint venture between Chicago-based AJ Capital Partners LLC and John Pritzker’s San Francisco investment firm teamed up in 2012 to buy the property, where they plan a 240-room luxury hotel.

PHOTO CREDIT: CoStar Group Inc.

This leaflet was part of an invitational brochure touting the facilities of the Lake Shore Athletic Club, 850 N. Lake Shore Drive, including its “Mediterranean” dining room. The club’s indoor pool hosted Olympic trials for the 1928 Games in Amsterdam.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lake Shore Athletic Club / Chicago History Museum

Integrated Development Group converted the former Lakeshore Athletic Club to 198 apartments, and the project opened to residents in January. Here is the Mediterranean room, now a lounge known as the “White Room.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Marian Kraus Photography

The Cliff Dwellers were formed in 1907 to “bring together men of artistic and literary tastes who are now widely scattered among the various social and business organizations of Chicago,” according to a letter from its founding. Once perched in a Howard Van Doren Shaw-designed space shown here at Orchestra Hall, the club counted Roger Ebert and Frank Lloyd Wright among its members.

PHOTO CREDIT: Hedrich Blessing collection at Chicago History Museum

The club was booted from Orchestra Hall in 1996 and almost lost its current clubhouse at 200 S. Michigan Ave. to Johnson Publishing Co., which contemplated moving its offices there. Johnson ended up not taking the Cliff Dwellers space, allowing the club to sign a new 15-year lease and spend $300,000 renovating its space, part of which is shown here.

PHOTO CREDIT: Hedrich Blessing

The Tavern Club also catered to an artistic crowd, but unlike the Cliff Dwellers, was a crowd that liked to drink whether it was legal or not. The 25th-floor space at 333 N. Michigan Ave. still has unobstructed views of Boul Mich. The Holabird & Root-designed space including a smoking room and card room is shown in this 1929 issue of The Architectural Record.

PHOTO CREDIT: courtesy of Wirtz Realty Corp.

The building’s owner, Wirtz Realty Corp., is busy converting the old Tavern Club to office space.

PHOTO CREDIT: Shane Collins

The Tower Club occupied the 39th floor of the Civic Opera House until the club closed in 2011. The club’s dining room is shown here.

PHOTO CREDIT: Hedrich Blessing collection at Chicago History Museum

Munich, Germany-based software company hybris leased the 14,000-square-foot space earlier this year. Renovations are under way, but the Tower Club’s vintage wood grain bar shown in this rendering will be a part of the office.

PHOTO CREDIT: hybris

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